What do You think about Fiddlers (2006)?
I finished this very last entry in McBain's 87th Precinct series with a strange sense of melancholy. For the past couple of years I've worked my way through most of the 55 titles in more or less chronological order, and the knowledge that after this there would be no further developments of his rich and motley cast was kind of sad. This one is a quintessential McBain yarn, starting from the multiple themes that derive from the title. The entire detective squad of the 87th becomes involved in a multiple homicide, the first of which is the killing of a blind violinist. There are all sorts of fiddlers and fiddling as the plot grows and deepens in complexity. There are familial, romantic and just plain hormonal relationships among the varied characters. McBain seems to have decided to show everybody in their best light-- even the obnoxious ones like Andy Parker and Fat Ollie Weeks seem softer-edged and on the verge of discovering redemptive traits, though Bert Kling remains a hard-luck lover right to the end. There's no sense of finality here. One could almost believe McBain hoped his characters would live on, continue to grow and have further adventures. (Personally I don't know how I'd feel about that. Salvatore Lombino, aka Evan Hunter, aka Ed McBain, was one of a kind). There is also a certain feeling of playing his characters and plot by the numbers. Maybe it was a good time for the boys of the 87th to go out at the top of their game.
—Tony Gleeson
(Abridged audio book)I liked the story and I realize that I enjoy all of the cops at the 87th precinct.Because this was abridged, there wasn't a lot of whys and wherefores discussing why the bad guy was doing what he was doing. Other than some jarring switches between scenes/characters which were a bit difficult to follow without a visual 'new chapter' or even 'new paragraph', the detective work flowed smoothly - no noticeable jumps in logic or convenient conclusions.The ending was pretty anticlimactic. Don't know if that was a result of the abridgement or if the author used up all the good stuff earlier in the story.
—Tracy
A series of killings stump the detectives of the 87th Precinct. The only things in common are the Glock pistol used, the relative old ages of the victims, and that each is shot twice in the face. The victims themselves seem unlikely. There is a blind violinist, a cosmetics saleswoman, a female college professor, a priest, and an old woman walking her dog. Piece by piece, the detectives, must find the links to the crime. As usual, this series is the “king” of procedural mysteries with excellent plotting and real-like characters. It has drama, humor and great crime-solving procedure. As always, the detectives themselves have their own personal problems and hang-ups that add spice to the story. Will Fat Ollie's romance come to fruition? We will never know. This is the final episode of the 87th Precinct series; McBain passed on in 2005, leaving a legacy of wonderful books, both as Ed McBain and Evan Hunter.
—Gerald Kinro
